and so follow the stars (and here you are)
by Yotsubadancesintherain5
Summary: The steps to happiness. Part two of the A Mighty Ocean or a Gentle Kiss series.
1. 1-10

And what a privilege is it to love!  
A great honor to hold you up.

-Sleeping at Last, Two

**1\. First kiss**

The snow lightly fell as Takeo walked home, his breath visible in the air. He only noticed then that he should feel cold but an aura of heat surrounded him.

He put a hand to his mouth, "First kiss, first kiss, our first kiss," replaying ceaselessly in his head. His already warm face grew hotter when he remembered what transpired not three minutes ago.

The bursts of emotion, declarations, something that threw him out of orbit and yet kept him tethered to the ground. It was something so unfamiliar and something that Takeo would welcome over and over again.

He almost ran into a telephone pole and stumbled out of the way. He shook his head and continued walking. The snowfall was getting heavier and Takeo drew his arms around himself once to rub his arms.

He kept his arms away from his stomach, his chest, so as not to erase the phantom feeling of Rinko held close to him. She felt just as warm as he did, clinging closely and shouting her thanks and that she would take care of him too.

She'd waved at him from the doorway until he was out of sight, occasionally bringing a hand to her face and brushing at it with her knuckles. Takeo had to blink away a few of his own tears and wondered if warm tears meant tears of happiness.

He imagined a shell, tangible, and all of these emotions stored there. The shell was hung on a string and placed around him, the shell singing like the sea. All at once he understood the poets and the songwriters that poured over the writings of their love and joy.

"I'm glad you were born," Takeo said to no one, but it was something he would show with his actions forever.

**2\. Empire**

Rinko looked over the view from the hotel room. She was in this city to get high quality flour for an expensive cake order and to speak with the people who ordered the cake. They would go over the designs the next morning.

The city was spread out before her, glittering in the setting sun. She could see a cluster of buildings, an empire of shopping malls with advertisements to act as pseudo banners.

Rinko looked out at the sea of people below her and decided that the malls would be a good place to look for souvenirs.

She headed downstairs via the elevator and when she made it down to the lobby there was a wedding poster next to the elevator doors. It showed a bride and groom smiling together, their picture's border filled with plastic flowers.

She saw the bride in the middle of the lobby. Rinko paused to look, and the bride was surrounded by a group taking pictures of her.

She was dressed in a Western wedding dress, her long hair artfully piled upward, secured by bobby pins. Her wedding dress was embroidered with pearls and a simple string of pearls graced her neck.

Her face was beautifully serene; that the mere thought of her groom brought her peace.

It made Rinko's vision blur. She saw herself in that bride, and the emotions she felt on her wedding.

She remembered Takeo, that he was so handsome dressed in the montsuki, and the warm look in his eyes. No words had to be spoken.

Rinko rubbed at her eyes and made it outside. She collected herself and told herself she'd see Takeo in a few days.

She wished the bride and groom happiness like what she felt.

**3\. Falter**

As he trudged home Takeo had a falter in his step. It made him fall down in the mud, and he was too lost in thought to pick himself up.

Rinko looked so happy in the same car as Ichinose. Maybe they were talking about fancy cakes or something Takeo had never heard of before.

Maybe Ichinose was right. That Takeo was a horrible match for her, and would be better off with someone else.

"If you need to," Takeo said, as if in practice, "Be happy with someone else."

**4\. Glass**

It wasn't until a couple weeks after the trip that Takeo received the glass structure in the mail. Now that he really got a good look at it the little cylinder mold had uneven ridges, like some sort of ugly modern art piece.

He carefully ran a finger over the ridges, and had a strange feeling, like there was a sort of nostalgia to it. He remembered, suddenly, when Rinko brushed up close to him when he was making this glass structure.

And then what it led to and he wondered if the glass would melt just by the heat of his hands. He placed it down on the table just in case it would melt.

Takeo thought, then, that to anybody else this would just be a strange little glass but it held so much meaning to him. He wondered about the other strange knick-knacks in the world and the attachments someone would have to a knick-knack.

"A connection to her," he said to no one. He would put the little glass structure on top of his dresser, later.

**5\. Compliment **

Takeo watched the waves roll in and out, the sunset making the water glimmer. He wondered about the seagulls that flew in the sky and the crabs that scurried underneath the waves.

There was soft humming and he looked at Rinko. She worked at the grains of sand, etching in words and a triangle symbol.

"Umbrella of love." He didn't realize he said it out loud until she looked up at him and smiled.

"You're handsome, Takeo," she said; it should have been seen as a spontaneous observation but it was said in a way that she had been waiting for the right moment to say it.

"You're beautiful," he would've replied in turn but the compliment left his throat in a sort of flustered exhale.

Rinko only inched herself closer to him and wrote the letters on her arm with her index finger. It only took until the airy "ri" that he realized she was writing, "Gouda Rinko."

The, "I love her," became a flustered, quiet exhale as well.

**6\. Honor**

It was an intangible thing that coursed through the blood of those blessed with it; that's what he thought.

But it was such a simple word and yet so broad, of what it meant and to so many others; whether it was as complex as laying down one's life for their ideals or as simple as returning a borrowed book.

On his honor he would love her and protect her.

**7\. Work**

"Your barley tea," Takeo said as he set the glass down on the table. The café was rather slow today.

"Thanks," the customer replied. He drank the entire tea in one gulp and before Takeo could go tend to the sparse other customers he said, "Kid, let me ask you something."

"Yes?" Takeo was at full attention.

"You got anyone you love?" the customer asked. "Today's been a blue day at work, so I'd rather have some good news, now."

"Yes, I do! I have a girlfriend! I love her!"

"Good then, good. Love is all you really need," he said wistfully.

"Idiot," another customer yelled from across the room, "You need money too! Love doesn't pay the bills, you idiot."

"You know what I mean," the customer yelled back.

"I know what you mean," Takeo said.

"Good. Got something more to you than those muscles," the customer said. "You could probably stop a boar in its tracks for her."

"I have!"

The customer looked on silently until he chuckled. "Well, I'll believe it since you would be the type."

**8\. Jealous**

Takeo stared out at the ocean, the sun baking down on the beach. The mountain was a teacher and the ocean was the other, vast and cold but a giver of fish.

"That Ichinose," Suna said, breaking the silence. "What do you think of him, now?"

"Annoyed," Takeo said.

"And why?"

"Running up, demanding that I leave Yamato to him." Takeo shifted his weight, and the sand flew up in a brief puff of a cloud. "Like he… doesn't even consider what she wants."

He shook his head. "What kind of man does that?"

"Anything else?"

"I am jealous, that he knows so much about pastries," Takeo said. The ocean carried out his grievances out to the deepest level.

"That's his job."

"But still," Takeo said, "That takes a lot of discipline."

It was silent again.

"You know," Suna said, "You can be childish this one time."

"Then… well, how would his name sound in English?"

"English? That's random." Suna put his hand to his chin. "Well, the 'nose' part, they would probably pronounce it 'no-sss,' like 'nose,' instead of 'no-seh.'"

"Nose," Takeo said, as he tried the English word. "What about the first part?"

"'Ichi,' they would probably call it, 'Itchy.'"

"Itchy. Itchy Nose," Takeo said, "So he sneezes on his cakes."

"It wouldn't change the taste, then."

Takeo's laughter could be heard from any point on the beach.

**9\. Strings**

The cookery store was attached to an arts and crafts store, so Takeo and Rinko visited the latter after they bought a new mixer.

There were rows of acrylic paint and paintbrushes, and then a table with baskets full of yarn. Rinko led Takeo to the yarn and she leafed through them.

"I've wanted to try knitting, but it's hard work," Rinko said, "And it costs a lot of money…"

She picked up a bundle of red strings, tied up by the packaging. She held one half of it and placed the other half into Takeo's hand.

"See, now you can see the red string of fate!"

"Oh, oh, I can," Takeo said. "Do you think someone could make a sweater with all the red strings of fate?"

"An invisible red sweater," Rinko said as she put the package back. "Like a fairytale! It's only seen by someone who's truly in love."

They constructed the fairytale of the invisible red sweater as they left the store to run other errands.

**10\. Semantics**

It was late when Takeo got the chance to call Rinko, and he hoped it wouldn't wake her up if it was too late over in Spain.

"Takeo!" she said after the third ring. She sounded awake, so Takeo let out a sigh of relief.

"Yamato," he said, "how are you?"

"Good! It's gotten hotter here, so we've been leaving the windows open! Walking to school is tough, sometimes…"

"Is it better than here in the summer?"

"Is it? I can't tell," Rinko replied. "Everywhere is hot."

"Even the snow is hot!"

Rinko laughed. "School is a little easier. We were studying semantics in one of my classes."

Takeo pictured a fishing class and nodded. "Yeah?"

"There's one boy here, he tried to say something in Japanese," Rinko continued, "He said, 'When truth or lie fight, truth always wins in the end.'"

"That's great!" Takeo exclaimed. "It's good to be wise."

"It is!"

They talked until Takeo realized it was three a.m. He would later bring up Rinko's fishing class with his friends and it begun an impromptu fishing trip.


	2. 11-20

**11\. Innocence**

It would be a few hours until Rinko would come home with groceries. Takeo got the rice cooker going and cleaned up the counter for cooking. He noticed a plate with a cookie on it, the dessert for Sachiko. He moved it out of the way, on the dining table.

There was a scuff of the chair and Takeo saw Sachiko climb up onto the chair, crayons and paper in hand.

"Dinner," Sachiko said as she laid out her coloring tools on the table.

"Not until mama gets home." Takeo ruffled her hair and saw the newly tangled mess. He went to get her hair brush.

When he came back the cookie on the plate was gone and Sachiko was coloring, the corners of her mouth smeared with chocolate.

Takeo got to work on her hair, carefully brushing out the tangles.

"What happened to the cookie?" he asked.

"I 'unno," Sachiko said. She looked up at him with the picture perfect face of innocence. Unfortunately the evidence was still plain to see on her face.

"I see," Takeo said, "Did it grow legs and walk away?"

"Yes!"

"Then, where did the chocolate on your mouth come from?"

Sachiko quickly rubbed at her mouth but it only became a smear on the back of her hands. Takeo grabbed a tissue and cleaned them.

"I ate it," Sachiko admitted as Takeo threw away the tissue.

"Then no dessert for tonight."

Sachiko sulked against the chair and Takeo settled down in the one next to her.

"But, mama might bake something this weekend. Mama's baking is the best, right?"

Sachiko nodded vigorously and Takeo continued, "In fact, after we first met, mama baked me the best cake ever…"

The stories continued as Sachiko helped Takeo with dinner preparation, and when Rinko arrived home she got to tell her own stories to their daughter.

**12\. Dispose**

Takeo hung up the phone, trying not to think about how Rinko's last, "Takeo!" cut through him.

She was suffering without him, the once happy thought of them going to college together now a looming expectation. It was a way out for her.

There was an iron ball in his stomach, and his heart beat painfully. Takeo shook his head. He made this choice and had to live with it, even if it hurt.

He saw the bear she gave him on his sixteenth birthday and the memories flooded back, painfully. He wouldn't dispose of them.

Takeo wouldn't forget her.

**13\. Blaze**

There was a new pizza place that opened up and Takeo and Rinko headed there for one of their dates.

"They can make a pizza in two minutes," Rinko said as they walked.

"Two minutes?"

"They put it in this big kiln, and it goes _fwooooosh_," Rinko said, her hands going outward to imitate the fire.

"_I love her_!"

The restaurant's walls were filled with modern art, the abstract shapes resembling motorcycles, bikes and the hills that the vehicles rode on; the furniture was boxy, the tables in the style of a box on a stand and the chairs old soap boxes.

"Is this an art museum?" Takeo asked. Rinko laughed at his genuine question but before Takeo could reiterate that it wasn't a joke he noticed the counter with workers and the kiln in the back.

"It's not too busy right now," Rinko said. She led Takeo to the line, and they were soon helped to build their own pizzas.

At the end of the line there were desserts in glass containers and Rinko got a chocolate chip cookie that had sea salt sprinkled on the chips.

They settled down at one of the tables and Takeo looked around.

"I thought there would be pictures of tomatoes on the wall."

"Hmm? Why tomatoes?"

"Usually places like this do, I think." Takeo added, "We should go to an art museum sometime!"

"We should!"

Before long their pizzas were ready; as the worker pulled out Takeo's pizza from the kiln a sudden blaze of fire licked at the right side of Takeo's pizza. When it was brought out the right side's crust was black.

There were apologizes and Takeo said, "I can eat around it."

The pizzas were brought to the table and Rinko bit into her pizza. "It's so good!"

Takeo ate his slice quickly. "I want to eat it all right now."

"I want to eat it all right now, too," Rinko said with a smile. "I'm sorry that your pizza got burnt."

Takeo had already eaten a slice from the right side. He swallowed the portion in his mouth and said, "It gives a smoky flavor!"

"Ah, well that's good."

When the meal was done Rinko broke the cookie in half and gave one to Takeo.

"I should try this sometime," Rinko said, "The salt gives out the flavor of the chocolate."

"I can't wait to try it!"

**14\. Neglected**

At first, Takeo was worried. Dramas and movies made it out to be that when the main character got a girlfriend, his friend would be neglected and alone. And that it would lead to the main character having to chose between his friend and girlfriend.

In time he realized that love wasn't finite, and that Rinko seemed to embody infinite love. And Suna wasn't the type to feel lonely anyway.

**15\. Quake**

When Rinko visited she brought along a game console and said, "My sister got it earlier this week and said you'd like this game she got!"

They set up the console to the TV and Rinko pointed out that her sister already made a profile for Takeo. It read, "Rinko's Boyfriend," and the profile picture was an icon of lovebirds.

"Will that be on the game?" Takeo asked.

"Your character is named 'Rinko's Boyfriend'?" Rinko asked. "That'd be funny!"

The game loaded and the title screen went dark when Takeo pushed the A button. It opened on a first person perspective, the anonymous protagonist running from a threat before falling off a cliff.

Rinko gasped and Takeo had to loosen up his grip on the controller.

The protagonist was in a farmer's cabin in the next scene and the farmer said, "I found you in the woods. Who are you?"

The camera turned to the protagonist and a character creation menu appeared.

"There's a random button," Takeo said. He scrolled down to click on it and the protagonist's hair became floor length, his nose squashed in, his eyes bigger than the middle of his face, his mouth smaller than a pencil eraser and topped off with a top hat and monocle.

"Where did the hat come from?" Rinko asked amid Takeo's laughs. "Isn't this the olden times?"

"He made it himself!" Takeo theorized.

After the character creation was done, Takeo worked on the controls. His character jumped on the farmer's table and it made the screen quake, a loud crashing noise blared out from the speakers and the screen went black.

"What happened?" Takeo asked when the shock wore off.

"Nori did say this game had… what was it, glitches?"

"Did we lose everything?" Takeo asked.

"No, she said it… it saves itself after you do anything."

"Technology is amazing."

**16\. Guess **

When they came home from Rinko's parents' house, she nudged Takeo's arm.

"I never got to ask, but did you notice anything today?"

"There were bacon bits in the donuts your parents served? They were good."

"No, not that," Rinko said. "It was something here, earlier this morning, from breakfast. Guess!"

"Oh! You made a cute drawing of a turtle."

"Close, well, after that," Rinko said, coaxing the answer out.

"There was only one bun in the oven," Takeo said. "It was delicious!"

"Yes, that, but," Rinko continued, "It's like that American idiom, you know!"

"Which one? I wonder…"

"I wonder, too," Rinko said, excitement tingeing her voice. "I'll get the book for you."

She brought it back for him, her finger holding the right place.

"Bun in the oven," Takeo read, "To be pregnant; to be… expecting a baby…"

He looked up from the book and asked, "Really?" His voice was suddenly thick.

Rinko couldn't speak, and she grinned widely as she nodded. Takeo pulled her into an embrace.

"When did you know?" he asked.

"I made sure a few weeks ago, you know, I wanted to be sure…" Her voice trailed off in giggles.

"I love you," Takeo said, as he held her closer.

"I love you, too."

**17\. Quarrel**

Takeo didn't expect to be standing outside his daughter's bedroom door. He expected to cheerfully come home, help Rinko with dinner and they'd all sit together to eat. It would be a regular, happy evening. Many evenings passed this way.

But he'd come home and found himself in the midst of a quarrel with Sachiko that he honestly didn't remember. She'd yelled at him and ran to her room. It was a blur.

"Did I do something?" he asked Rinko.

She shook her head. "She's just at that age."

But it didn't feel right to end it then. And that was how he found himself outside his daughter's bedroom door.

"Sachiko," he said with a knock. There was no answer.

"Sachiko," Takeo said again. "Whatever happened, I'm sorry."

That didn't seem quite right either so he added, "It must be tough. I was carefree at your age so I didn't have a lot of hardship, but…"

His words felt jumbled up and he hoped that despite this it would help her feel batter. "I don't always know things. Your mom can tell you that I'm oblivious. Uncle Suna, too. But I do know that no matter what I'll always love you, Sachiko."

There was no answer so Takeo didn't push it. He went to help Rinko with dinner. When he got to the kitchen she wiped her eyes and blamed it on the onions.

It wasn't long after when dinner was on the table that they heard the click of Sachiko's bedroom door open. Sachiko soon appeared in the kitchen. Her eyes and nose were red.

She silently walked to Takeo and hugged him. He enveloped her in a hug.

She felt small in his arms – she always did, ever since she was born – but Takeo wondered if she'd gotten a little bigger.

He'd cross the threshold of her becoming an adult when it appeared. For now, he'd gladly go to the table with his family so they'd eat together.

**18\. Brood **

"This one is?" Takeo asked. He brought the picture book closer.

"Tiger!"

"Good," Takeo said. He pointed to a brood of chicks. "And these are?"

"Chickens!" Sachiko exclaimed. "Love!"

"You love chickens?" Takeo asked. "They are fluffy and cute!"

"Cute!"

Rinko walked by with a basket of clean laundry. "They are cute! Sachiko, we can go to a farm and see chickens."

"See! See tiger."

"That's at the zoo, Sachiko."

**19\. Effort**

In Rinko's wish to be stronger, she and Takeo would go to the park and run laps on the path.

"This makes your heart stronger," Takeo said as he ran. He stopped and looked behind him because Rinko was far behind.

"I'm sorry," she said in-between her labored breathing. "I'm really bad at running."

"But you got here," Takeo said encouragingly, "Without any help, through your own effort!"

Rinko took in a deep breath and closed her hands into determined fists. "Okay!"

Even with all his muscles and strength she seemed to have a way to make Takeo's heart weak.

**20\. Now**

Not long after getting the news Takeo called Suna and told him to go to the beach.

His friend arrived to find Takeo sitting there stoically, but his mouth turned upward.

"Takeo," Suna said, sitting down next to him.

"Suna," Takeo replied, "Rinko is going to have a baby."

There was a split second of shock that crossed Suna's face before he quipped, "Shouldn't you be at the hospital?"

"Not _now_," Takeo said. "Umm… How many weeks add up to nine months?"

"Well, it's about thirty-six to forty weeks," Suna said. "Depends on the pregnancy."

"Is that so?"

Takeo looked out at the sea. "I'm gonna be a dad."

"Do you think the baby will look more like you or Yamato?"

"It doesn't matter about looks, only that the heart is good."

"Figuratively or literally?"

"Both, of course," Takeo replied.


	3. 21-30

21\. Solve

There were many ways that Takeo could make this better, of course after it was all over. If he had noticed the bird before it tried to steal his gift, if he had grabbed Rinko and tried to fall backwards, or if he'd suggested a different date place.

There was no way to solve the past though. They were stuck together, and they could make it out of here together.

22\. Rest

There was a cold that spread around and despite his normal healthy demeanor Takeo caught it; he was quarantined in his room so that Maki wouldn't catch the cold.

He spent most of the days sleeping, strange sickness induced dreams, and when he was awake he had muddled thoughts, congested by the cold.

One day, when his head felt a little clearer, his cell phone rang and he reached to grab it. He blurrily tapped the 'accept call' button.

"Hello?"

"Takeo," said the other voice on the line. He managed a smile at Rinko's voice. "How are you doing?"

"Better," he said. He held back a coughing fit.

"That's good!" Rinko said. "I can come over and visit if you want."

"No, it's okay," Takeo said, his voice strained by holding in the coughs. "I don't want to get you sick, Yamato."

"All right. Hope you get better soon, and rest up! I love you."

"Love you, too," Takeo said. He heard the click and was finally able to cough.

23\. Soon

It was only a week before Rinko was going to return from Spain. It was strange to think that a whole year had nearly passed and that in one hundred sixty eight hours Rinko would be in Japan again.

The different ways of time measurement kept Takeo from getting too antsy.

But the one that helped the most was soon, soon she would be at the airport, soon they could walk side by side again, soon she could see her friends, and soon that this would be her home again.

24\. Listen

There was the question of what true happiness was; what could lead to true contentment, without the need for anything.

Sometimes it was just enough to listen to her voice, to know that they lived in the same time together.

25\. Haze

There was a gloomy wave of mist through this mountain, cold and grey. Through the haze, Takeo guided Rinko to the top.

The mist gave way to the expansive cliff, the rocky ground blessed with a smatter of grass. The view below showed a sea of trees, the dark green tops contrasting with the orange and yellow sky. The clouds trailed on up above.

"It's beautiful," Rinko said, her hand against her forehead as she looked on at the sight.

Takeo said nothing, and only took her hand in his.

26\. Excite

It was a mischievous thing to say. It wasn't any secret that Rinko was glad that Takeo would protect her and respect her boundaries. Even though it made her hide grins at his all-too easy to read face.

It was too early to mention again that she held those same desires too, like hand-holding and kissing. Besides, it was rather fun to know and see that her mere presence made Takeo shocked and flustered, with a dollop of excite in his movements.

Right now it was fine to be cheeky.

27\. Verbal

Rinko came home with a bounce in her step, a sort of stupor that nearly made her walk into the house with her outdoor shoes on, and one that her sister picked up immediately.

"What's up with you?" she asked bluntly.

"Nori," Rinko said as she pulled at the backs of her shoes to take them off, "I did it. You know, the boy that saved me on the train?"

"Yeah, the one that punched that creep? So?"

"I talked to him today!" Rinko said. There was a lit of admiration in her voice. "He's even dreamier the second time I've seen him…"

Nori made a face. "Don't turn into one of those drama protagonists."

"I won't!" Rinko contemplatively tapped at her chin. "But I do want to make something for him again…"

"Good idea," Nori said. "In my experience, it's best to wait for the verbal stuff!"

"I remember, when you got your first boyfriend you were first beginning to talk-" Rinko laughed as her sister began lightly swatting at her.

"I'm happy for you," Nori said when she stopped. "Good luck!"

"Thanks." Rinko smiled and headed to the kitchen to brainstorm up a new gift for her rescuer.

28\. Fragment

The train station was as busy as always, and Rinko almost didn't hear her name being called amongst the crowd. But a hand brushed at her shoulder and Rinko turned around.

"Oh, Saijou," she said.

"You take this train station, too, Yamato?"

"Sometimes. I was going over to the shopping district."

"Me too! Let's walk together."

They maneuvered out of the crowd and into the streets. Saijou rolled her shoulders, making them crack, before speaking.

"To be honest, it was a really big relief to see you," Saijou said. "The other day I wasn't paying attention and I got on the wrong train. I was wearing headphones, right? And I didn't realize what happened until I was all the way over in Nerima!"

"Oh, no! What'd you do?"

"It was really crowded but I managed to get off the train at the last minute. It was literally a fragment of a second! I managed to catch a rapid train back home… Good thing I didn't go all the way to the end of the line, huh?"

"Good thing!" Rinko said. "But why was it a relief to see me?"

"I guess, you're like an aspect of home," Saijou replied.

Rinko hummed. "People that make up home…"

"Have you been able to see Coach?" Saijou asked. "I heard he got a really bad cold."

"I did," Rinko replied. "It wasn't as bad, he just needed to sleep when we were done talking. You should come with me next time I visit!"

"I will. You know, everyone else will visit too, I think."

"Will his room be able to hold that many people?" Rinko wondered.

They exchanged jokes about the room becoming crowded and everyone catching the cold as they shopped together.

29\. Inert

The last few months of pregnancy left Rinko nearly inert; the sort that would let her slowly walk until it became too tiring. It left Takeo to the work of the bakery, but his sister would visit with Rinko after school.

One day he came home and could smell rice already boiling in the cooker. He headed out to the living room and found Maki at the table diligently working away at her homework and Rinko relaxing on the couch.

"Welcome home," Maki's was much louder than Rinko's; Maki waved a pencil at Takeo.

"I started up dinner for us, Takeo!"

"Thank you, Maki," he said.

Realization dawned on her face and she hastily scribbled out the finishing touches of her homework. "I need to get the main course ready!"

"Be careful with the knife," Takeo called to her retreating form. He knelt down next to the couch and took Rinko's hands into his own.

"How are you doing?"

"Fine," Rinko replied, smiling. "She started moving around when she heard your voice."

Takeo gingerly rested his hand on her stomach and could faintly feel this; more so because the full weight of his hand didn't rest there.

"She kicked Maki in the ear earlier," Rinko said.

"Did she?" Takeo asked. "Silly, that's your aunt."

Before Rinko could reply, Maki called for Takeo from the kitchen, uproariously and with a pinch of whine.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't find the salt and pepper!"

"They're on the top shelf, I'll get it." Takeo leaned down to press a kiss to Rinko's forehead and he walked to the kitchen to help Maki with dinner.

30\. Classic

It was the kind of moment that caused a horrible heart drop into the stomach, shoulders pulled back taut and toes curled in, wishing desperately to flee. It was much too dark; they type that Rinko wouldn't be able to recognize her own mother kind of darkness.

She tried to assure herself that little kids don't die, especially when they were worried about squirrels that roamed in caves. She hoped that this would turn out like a classic fairytale, where a kind huntsman would save a lost girl.

But there was another child lost in here, and he could see much better in the darkness. He guided her, pulled her out of the pitfall and his friend rescued the both of them from the cave.

When Rinko was back in the cabin, her mother scolding her for running off and getting dirty, she realized she never asked the boy for his name. She would refer to him as the kind huntsman until she lost the experience to vague childhood memories.


	4. 31-40

**31\. Animal**

"She's getting so big," Rinko said as she watched Maki toddle around the living room. Maki came to a table and reached upward.

Takeo brought down the stuffed animal for his sister and watched her squeeze the giraffe tightly. "Suna's still trying to teach her English."

"Is that so? It'll be good for her, right?" Rinko asked. "Sometimes English is very confusing…"

She laughed when Maki began chewing on the giraffe's ear. "Takeo, if we had…"

She suddenly stopped and Takeo shook his head, not missing the implication.

"It's okay! It's soon for that, we can talk about it when we are…"

The subject became entirely too embarrassing and with both of them too embarrassed, Maki's babyish voice was the only one that filled the room for a long while.

**32\. Ashes**

Rinko watched the main entertainment, a big hole in the ground housing firewood with a roaring fire. It flickered upward and fleetingly stretched into the night.

One of the boys carelessly threw another log onto the fire, kicking up ashes that flew up into the air and the wind drifted them into her direction. She brushed them away and coughed.

"Are you okay?" Takeo asked. He gave her a dinner from the beach barbeque and took note of the wind. He draped his light jacket around her shoulders.

The ocean wind made her hair a plaything and Rinko bit into the barbequed meat before nodding. "You're warm, so I'm okay."

**33\. Strange**

It was true that sometimes their union would earn strange looks; how someone tall and unconventional like him was with a cute, petite girl like her; something that internally sprouted comments about the unexpected. But any doubts would melt away with the amount of adoration in his gazes at her.

**34\. Measure**

The flour spilled out over the counter and Takeo tried to clean up. He had excess flour in his hands and deposited it in spare measuring cups to deal with later.

"I can do this," he said, as he tried to measure what amount of water was needed for the cooking bowl. He remembered to butter up the pan so that the cake wouldn't stick to the pan. The eggs cracked easily against the bowl.

Baking was hard work but he wanted to make the best birthday cake for Rinko.

**35\. Jagged**

As Takeo struggled to keep the steel beam from falling, the hard chunk of construction equipment becoming slick from the sweat of his hands, the searing feeling of disappointment left him feeling jagged.

But Suna would be happy with her, and it was good that he wouldn't make her cry with a harsh, cold rejection. Takeo could take solace in that.

Then the weight was lightened, and Suna took hold of the steel beam as well, and even this new friend helped, too.

It was a fact that Takeo took into the jagged parts of his heart, that even if he was rejected he was never going to be alone.

**36\. Leave**

It was after Rinko was on leave for Spain with her family that Takeo found himself in this situation. They had all gone out to eat and one of Rinko's friends began speaking about her.

There was a stifled sob, a few tears and then the waterworks broke open, and Takeo found himself comforting her friends as they clung to him. Maybe they viewed him as a physical thread to Rinko.

"Don't worry, Yamato," Takeo thought as he patted their backs and was relieved at Suna bringing in boxes of tissues, "Everyone will be so happy to have you back."

**37\. Fit**

There was a school festival at Takeo's school and he hesitated at the haunted house set up at one of the classrooms.

"I'm scared of them, too," Rinko said reassuringly. She had tried to step in a few times before becoming too afraid to step forward.

"I'm more afraid about punching somebody in fear," Takeo said. He tried to step forward again before his conscious bombarded him with worst case scenarios.

In the end he couldn't fit in the makeshift doorway and they ended up going to another attraction anyway.

**38\. Elusive**

Rinko had brought a cake home, something that she got while on the trip for the bakery and proudly presented it for dessert. It was an elusive cake, one that sold out very quickly and one that she was lucky enough to get.

Takeo was given the first slice and took a forkful. The breading was crumbly but tasted stale and the icing sat like glue on his tongue.

He kept his disgust down, wanting to get an opinion from Rinko, the one that knew cakes inside and out. She ate a forkful of cake and immediately spat it out into a napkin.

Sometimes elusive did not guarantee high quality.

**39\. Painstaking**

Takeo rolled out his wrist and got to work on the icing again. It was painstaking work to squeeze out the sweet substance into a perfect curl atop the cake. He couldn't let it become too big or too little, or even break off and make it hang limply off the cake.

But the last few ones were finished five minutes apart a piece, and he put a few finishing touches on the icing so that it would cover up any cake crumbs.

Finally it looked perfect, just like the one in the cookbook, even if it was very thick with the icing.

When he presented the cake to Rinko for her birthday her phone's storage was almost filled up because of how many pictures she took of the cake.

**40\. Unfolded**

Rinko was coming home the next day. This was something that played over and over in Takeo's head as he tried to sleep. Nothing could quell the noise in his head.

He couldn't look at his phone to pass the time; there was something that it was worse for sleep or something and he needed to be up and ready to see her again.

He got up and found some plain paper. He folded and unfolded the paper over and over, a permanent crease in the middle as he smoothed it down with the tips of his fingernails.

He rested his head on the pillow as he folded and unfolded and soon the paper was left alone as he slept.


	5. 41-50

**41\. Wrapped**

There was a cry out in the night, one that stirred Takeo out of bed. Still in the veil of sleep he reassured Rinko that he would take care of the cry and he headed for the source.

"Sachiko," he said quietly, as he lifted up the baby from her crib. She practically wrapped herself around him, and he tried to figure out what was making her cry.

"Nothing smells," Takeo said as he carefully set her back into the crib, "Are you hungry?"

He went to prepare a bottle and came back to feed it to her; she rejected the milk with a shake of her head and another cry.

"All right," he said as he set the bottle down on a table. "Then, Sachiko, what's wrong?"

Her cries quieted at his voice, and he kept talking.

"Did you have a nightmare, Sachiko? Do babies get nightmares?" He gently rocked her from side to side. "Your uncle Suna would know."

Her grip on him was loosening and he settled her back into the crib. He smoothed down what little fuzzy hair that she had and went back to bed.

"She's okay," Rinko said sleepily as he settled into bed.

"She's okay," Takeo replied.

"I know. She was with you."

**42\. Friend**

"Look at her," Suna said as he held Sachiko. Her chubby fingers gripped his index finger and squeezed tightly. "She is strong like you, and she looks like Yamato."

Takeo, still in the throes of the emotion of newfound fatherhood, suddenly exclaimed, "Thank you for being my friend!"

"Same here."

**43\. Swift**

They had run into each other, and went to get lunch together. Rinko decided to take the plunge and try a Hawaiian burger; Saijou looked over it as she worked her way through a meatball sandwich.

"That has pineapples in it, huh?" Saijou asked.

"It's crisp! It's good," Rinko said.

"It kinda looks like the sort of thing Olympian athletes eat," Saijou said. "You know, calories and stuff."

"I bet Takeo could eat this whole thing," Rinko said. She took a big bite but it took a while to chew through.

"Yeah, I bet Coach could," Saijou said. "He was so fast! Well, he is swift. But, man, it was something to see."

"I try to run fast, too, but it's hard."

Saijou laughed. "Coach chased me! Maybe you just need to chase him. That'd be a really funny sight!"

**44\. Seasons**

"I've been thinking of a time to ask Rinko to marry me," Takeo said.

The ocean wind was especially strong today and it blew Suna's bangs all the way back. "You did, in Spain."

"But that was a long time ago, Suna. I wanna do it again," Takeo said, "It has to be extra special, I wanna give that to her."

"Do we have to talk out here?"

"Yes. I've already gone down the seasons. I can't choose the best one…"

"Well," Suna said as he attempted to tame his bangs back down, "You have time to think about it."

**45\. Need**

Takeo was walking out alone, heading to nowhere in particular. He happened upon the local park and settled down onto the ground to look up at the stars.

There was something of the brink of a fight, one that he tried to diffuse but unfortunately had been the subject of a vague irritability.

Takeo pictured Rinko then, as she was with tears brimming in her eyes and he rose up his arms as if to hug his imaginary figure of her.

"It's not your fault, Rinko," he said.

It wasn't something that he would take to heart. It was a stressful day for her, and perhaps he took up too much air and she just needed to breathe. It was a normal need, he thought, happiness wasn't expected all the time. If it was, everyone would be a peppy talk host.

He watched the stars alone, making shapes of them, and was rather unsure of how much time passed. When he was beginning to fall asleep was when he decided it was time to go home.

He found her in the doorway putting on her shoes, and the brimming tears spilled over.

"I was going to look for you," her arms reached out and her next words were muffled by his embrace, "I'm sorry, Takeo."

"No need to be sorry."

**46\. Course**

"You know, I went on a double date with Coach and Yamato the other day," Saijou said. She perused the selection of meat, poking and prodding at the packaging.

"Huh," Suna replied. They'd run into each other at the grocery store and decided to do their shopping together.

"Yeah, I totally didn't expect this," Saijou said as she picked up another package of meat. "But my date, he stepped out into the busy street and Coach grabbed my date and threw him back… a little too hard, totally knocked the wind out of him."

"That sounds par for the course."

**47\. Cast**

Sachiko had climbed a tree at her school and fallen out of it; she was telling Takeo over and over that it didn't hurt, but it was weird to see her arm jutted out.

The doctors quickly got everything situated and her arm was bound in a cast; now on the way home she complained that it itched.

Rinko took her mind off it when they got home to announce that Sachiko could get her friends to write whatever they wanted on the cast; it cleared up the complaints almost immediately.

The itchiness was taken care of by using the cool, low setting of the hair dryer against the cast.

**48\. Hospital**

Takeo sat in the lobby of the hospital, watching the people walk around him. He reflected on the numerous times he had been here, and wondered about the people that had come and gone from this place.

He wondered about the lives of the doctors and nurses, and the patients they took care of; how many patients had lives that were cut too short.

It kept him from dwelling on the inevitable, when they would finally call his name.

It took a long while but they called his name and directed him to the correct room. Takeo stood up, his old bones creaking, and he took in a shaky inhale.

**49\. Soda**

After the funeral, Takeo and Rinko helped out Suna's family with getting his father's things sorted. It was good to go over the memories, the trinkets that Suna's father had kept safe in boxes. There were many boxes filled with Polaroid photos of the family, the sort that stalled cleaning to reminisce.

Suna was locked in a conversation with Rinko about the family's trip to Hawaii, showing her the numerous photos. Takeo stepped around the boxes and went to the kitchen to get something to drink.

He opened up the refrigerator and found a specific soda; one that Suna's father indulged in on happy events.

A wave of sadness crashed through him as he took down the can and looked at the label. It seemed so silly that a sugary drink would cause these emotions to well up but even so it was a staple in some of his memories.

The can was quite cold in his hand, a sort that indicated that the soda hadn't been touched for a long time. He put it back, not quite ready to disturb this treat once in the hands of Suna's father.

**50\. Beast **

It was the sort of memory that would spring up randomly, prompted by a story that took place in warm spring or something similar.

Takeo didn't quite remember, but it was probably at a park since he and a bunch of other kids were playing together. It was something that involved princes and beasts and princesses. Takeo was always chosen to be the beast.

He'd wanted to try out something different, to which he was told that he'd always be the beast, with a leveled amount of jeering in the foggy voices.

But there was one above the childishly malicious laughter, a girl yelling firmly, "Well, I _like_ the beast, so there!"

It was the sort of memory that was faded but still brought a good feeling into his heart.


	6. 51-60

**51\. Mistakes **

Red slashes were scattered across the paper, topped off with a defeating, "fifty-eight" at the top inked in red.

It was something that Sachiko passed off into Takeo's hand when she came back home from elementary school, before running to her room and slamming the door. He winced at the mistakes, the erratic erasing and fixings that ultimately were wrong.

It brought back a pang of nostalgia, though his daughter was taking this a lot more seriously. After a while he headed to her room and opened the door. She was lying on her bed, gripping a pillow tightly.

"Sachiko," he said as he entered, "I saw the test."

There was a quiet noise and he sat at the foot of her bed.

"It, well, it didn't look good," he started. "But we can help you with went wrong, okay?"

There was no response so he laid a hand on her back and made a soothing back and forth motion.

"Do you want a funny story?"

There was another quiet noise, an affirmative one this time, so Takeo started talking.

"When we were all in high school, we had practice tests. And I was off by one number! I couldn't figure out where it was, and I was so nervous I nearly became a ghost!"

There was a tiny laugh and he continued, "But I got through it, and your mom and I got to go to the same college. It seems scary now, but the future holds good things."

He felt her move upright, and Sachiko hugged him tightly.

**52\. Heartfelt**

"I wanna do something good for Christmas with Yamato this year," Takeo shouted. The rollercoaster kart spun forward, clattering along the rails. "It's kinda making me nervous!"

The rollercoaster kart climbed upward, the screaming of the other people in the karts not overtaking Takeo's voice.

"It's gotta be heartfelt, but I don't know what to do, really!"

The kart flew down, zooming forward at a breakneck speed until it came to a gradual stop.

"What do you think I should do, Suna?"

"I have no idea what you've been saying."

**53\. Fading away**

After the funeral there was another memorial at the park, where the mood was generally lighter due to the shared conversations and memories; it was something more akin to the person that Rinko was, the familiarity and happiness.

It was something that Takeo reflected on when he had a pocket of silence, resting on a park bench alone. He tried to think far back, for faces of friends and group dates and sadly found that they were very faded.

There was a pang of fear that the same would happen to Rinko; that in realizing this, the memories were in peril of fading away.

He pictured her face, frantically, and it came easily to him. He shut his eyes and concentrated, hoping that her face would never fade from memory.

**54\. Spirit**

The new loneliness of nobody else in the house was staved off by Sachiko coming to visit with her family in the days that followed. Takeo didn't see much of the kitchen when his family was there, Sachiko and her husband taking it over frequently.

Takeo was left with his grandson, Tetsuo, most of time. He would read to the boy, or help him build something then knock it down. There were many notepads filled with childish doodles alongside drawings with a little more structure.

One day, Tetsuo was focusing on very specific toys, to see which was the loudest and he suddenly had a focused look in his eyes.

"What do you see, Tetsuo?" Takeo asked.

"Gran'mm," Tetsuo said, pointing upward. Takeo's heart jumped upward into his throat until he followed the direction and saw a picture of Rinko on the wall instead of a spirit. The elation simmered down.

"Your grandma," Takeo repeated. Tetsuo started reaching upward, so Takeo picked him up and carried him to the picture.

Takeo watched his grandson touch the picture frame, babbling happily, and there was a moment of peace in the heartbreak.

**55\. Choice**

It was a time where Takeo could muse over what transpired throughout his life, the choices that could have been and never would. Or the choices that would never happen again, the ones that could never be repeated no matter what.

He realized with a jolt the mundane actions that happened all throughout his life, with something entirely new interspersed throughout. He couldn't stop thinking about the choice to enter Suna's room that day and declare his newfound infatuation for Rinko, and learning that she felt the same way.

"Suna," he called as he crashed into his friend's room, "Our entire lives are made up of choices!"

"Yes, I know."

**56\. Immortal**

It became very apparent that the two plush rabbit key chains on their phones were much worse for wear. They stopped resembling rabbits and more resembled grey, misshapen pickles; grey, fuzzy pickles that were also hanging from a threadbare string.

The toys were not immortal after all. It felt wrong to just throw them in the garbage after hanging from their phones for so many years so Takeo and Rinko held a small funeral for them. The two plush rabbit key chains were placed together in a box and buried at the park; it seemed dangerous to cremate the toys.

**57\. Open your eyes**

"Almost there, Takeo," Rinko said as she lead him up the stairs. He almost stumbled on the top step but got his footing.

"That's Suna's house, Takeo," Rinko said, giggling, as she led to the right door. She opened it up for him, and moved his shoes into the proper place when he was struggling.

"Takeo," Rinko said as she helped him to the living room. "Open your eyes!"

He blinked at the sudden light, and looked. There was a banner spread across the living room, "_Happy Seventeenth Birthday Takeo_!" in big, colorful letters. There were streamers along the walls, and small hawk figurines wearing tiny birthday hats were the centerpieces for the table.

"There's a cake in the refrigerator, your favorite," Rinko explained, her excitement bubbling over. "Your mom and dad went to get the birthday dinner and everyone will be here soon."

Takeo hugged her, "I love you."

**58\. Electricity**

"You know what I like about Nanako, Suna?" Kurihara asked as he leaned back in his chair. "I can look at her and just see the electricity!"

"It's probably because you drag your feet on carpet," Suna replied.

"He likes Nanako," Takeo interjected, and he completely missed Suna's reply that he knew because Kurihara directed his attention to Takeo.

"I bet you feel that same kind of electricity with Yamato!"

Takeo averted his gaze. "That's something only Yamato and I should know."

"Ah, ha, that really sounds like you, Takeo…"

**59\. Sacrifice **

There was a console set up at the party, and there was a bustle of people rotating the game sessions. Takeo found himself on the same rotation as Suna, and Takeo looked up at the TV screen quizzically.

"Nori likes this game," Rinko chimed in, "Just press the fire button, Takeo!"

It was a confusing mess for Takeo, unsure of who was on his team and who the enemy was. He figured out the team was denoted by names and color coding before he noticed an opponent was coming for Suna's character.

"Don't worry, Suna," Takeo said, and his character jumped in front of the enemy, taking the hit.

"Ah, Takeo, Suna actually had a special ready," Rinko said.

"Ah." Takeo's sacrifice wasn't in vain, as Suna effortlessly took out the enemy, and used the special on the other enemies.

**60\. Starlight**

The clouds spread across the night sky after a while, and Rinko could no longer see the starlight. The tops of the trees quietly whistled and she shivered at the brisk cold.

She inched herself closer to Takeo, still a good ways away. It wasn't much warmer than before so she took the plunge and nestled herself in-between one of his arms.

It was all right to not see the stars right now; she'd rather look up at his face.


	7. 61-70

**61\. Accident**

It was the sort of fear that crept in on sleepless nights or a similar story in the news. It was a memory that Rinko was thankful did not end up worse.

The memory of the accident brought the searing heat of flames, the ashes and congested coughing. Her friends were safe, but Takeo was still in there and he was going to die if they didn't hurry-

He crashed forward through the window, out of the burning building, and everything was truly all right. The utter relief made her feel like her heart was pulled from her stomach.

But it was something she never wanted to go through again.

**62\. Bite**

It was a hot, humid day and Rinko presented a box of watermelon.

"No new pastries today," she said, an apology in her voice. "It was too hot to make anything that wouldn't sag in the heat."

"This is good!" Takeo gave a slice to her, and then took a bite out of his own slice of watermelon.

"I once bit into a watermelon when I was little," Rinko said when she swallowed the first bite of watermelon, "And a loose tooth came out! Good thing I didn't like to swallow the seeds, huh?"

"Good thing," Takeo said. "I always had mushy watermelon slices when I was a kid."

"It always crumbles at the worst time, doesn't it?"

"It does!"

**63\. Commit**

It was a rather long talk with an underclassman; an underclassman that came to Takeo for advice, but became half of a vent session about general dating life. Still, Takeo listened.

"I've seen you with your girlfriend," the underclassman said. "I dunno, it seems weird that you… commit to her like that."

"Why is it weird?"

"W-well," the underclassman managed, caught-off guard by the intense look, "This is just a high school thing. It's not going to last."

"But you shouldn't treat somebody lesser if you think they won't be around soon," Takeo said, "That's a coward's way out."

"R-right…" His eyes wandered, and he got considerably pale.

"Oh," Takeo said. "Sorry. You got scared."

"Your voice is pretty loud…"

**64\. Fake**

It was probably a bad idea to watch a horror movie so late at night; luckily it was a movie that was rather old, a sort that had its scariness mostly tied together by foggy childhood memories.

"He looks strong," Takeo said, pointing at the protagonist. "He has a determined face."

"He… oh, it's a secret," Rinko said. She passed the popcorn to him. "When I was little I thought the blood he's covered in was real…"

"It's really bright," Takeo said. "Like melted red crayon!"

"This is good, though," Rinko said. "Like… being small, it seems so, so real. It's good to look back and know for sure it's fake."

"Like how the bad guy put the knife through the wall and it bended like rubber?"

"Exactly like that!"

**65\. Turn away**

It was a stupid mistake, one that was acted on impulsively. Takeo was on board to Spain now, the long plane ride too much for him to reflect. There was too much time on his hands to attempt to turn away these thoughts; they swarmed.

This had to be said in person. That he was sorry, and that it was wrong for him to hurt her like that, a break-up she didn't want.

He hoped that it wasn't too late.

**66\. Trouble**

"You got into trouble when you first met grandma?" Tetsuo gasped. He looked up from the photo album.

"I did," Takeo said. "I got into a lot of trouble."

"Like eating cookies when mama tells you not to, and you have to sit in the corner for a long, long time?"

"Worse," Takeo said. "I couldn't go to school for two weeks."

"That's forever!" Tetsuo said. "So you missed counting and writing…"

"I did," Takeo replied. He pointed at a picture of him, Rinko and Suna standing together at a sky bridge. "But if that never happened, I never would've met your grandma. I have a lot of stories about her. And your great-uncle Suna has a lot of stories to tell about her, too."

"That's good," Tetsuo said. "And I'm really, really glad you got into trouble one time."

**67\. Final**

The numerous sidequests were finished, and the only quest incomplete on the menu was the indication to go face the final boss.

"Good thing he never came down from the mountain," Rinko said.

"How long has it been?" Takeo wondered. "It must've been years before we face the final boss…"

"Maybe the final boss was just sleeping!"

The protagonist climbed the stairs up to the final boss, a tyrant that controlled dragons. There was a cutscene, one that last a little too long for comfort, and then the villain snapped his fingers.

The dragons began raining meteorites onto the grand throne room and the game crashed.

"Oh, yeah, Nori said that the game might crash there if we don't have a torch equipped," Rinko said after the shock wore off.

**68\. Waiting**

There was always a period of waiting in life. The waiting of wanting your mother to hurry up and stop talking to a friend in the grocery store for what seemed like hours and hours long. The waiting of being seen as a grown-up. The waiting in a doctor's room, for the doctor to call out your name while you tried to keep in congested coughs. The waiting for good news, bad news, the inevitable.

This was a waiting that left a dull ache in his heart.

"Is there anything you need, dad?" Sachiko asked quietly, a look of knowing in her eyes.

"I just want to see Rinko again."

**69\. Awareness**

A few days after he first got with Rinko, Takeo reevaluated all the signs he might've missed over the last few days. It turned out there were a lot, and he probably sent some out that he was completely unaware of; most people didn't get so close to other people's faces unless they liked each other.

Or maybe that was truer for birds.

Takeo thought then he needed to raise his awareness for romantic signs and the behaviors of birds.

**70\. Tender**

He passed away surrounded by family, something that brought him relief in his last moments. His daughter was on his left side, his oldest friend on the right side, and it was an overwhelming comfort with his venture into the unknown.

There was peace, and she was there, her smile as tender as he remembered it; happiness was born here.


	8. 71-80

**71\. Searched**

Alone together in the train station, far from where they were supposed to be; Takeo wondered how it could've fallen like this.

He searched for something to talk about, anything would do, but Rinko's words were ringing loud in his head. It was only amplified when she shivered and said that she was cold.

"I'll get something warm to drink!" Takeo announced, and he went to find a vending machine.

**72\. Hands of fate**

The guys' night out was, as stated by Kuirihara, was supposed to be a night of drinking and eating good food with the alcohol. Candidly he said it was also a way to coax out juicy secrets.

Takeo had to keep an eye on him. He sloppily revealed that he and his girlfriend bought a month's worth of baking powder before he nearly vomited right on the table. They moved him away from the impromptu party at another table.

"I got everything out of me," Kurihara said in a mixture of drunkenness and the misery of just vomiting, "Gimmie more fried chicken."

"Water," Takeo said. He gave the glass to his friend. "Do you want to throw up on Kayoko?"

"Nooooo," Kurihara said. "Kayoko is so fiery… So was Nanako and Fukumi and Maddy…"

He suddenly tried to shake Takeo by the shoulders but he was too tall so Kurihara opted to shake him by the elbows. "Takeo, I don't have anything for Nanako's birthday, and she and Kayoko will tease me about forgetting birthdays…"

"Her birthday isn't until next month," Takeo said. "Drink your water."

"Will she want baking powder," Kurihara said against the flow of water.

"Probably not."

"I'd hate to see you drunk," Suna said. He settled into the chair across from them and took a sip from his soda.

"I don't think I can," Takeo said quizzically. "I might be too big."

"You're probably right."

"And," Takeo said before he bit into a fried chicken leg, "It'd be a lot of trouble if I passed out."

Suna almost spat out his drink. "It would take twenty of us to carry you home."

Takeo nodded at his friend's laugh. "I'm glad. I don't want to cause any worry for Rinko."

"Yamato is so nice!" Kurihara shouted, "Marry her already, Takeo!"

"It's too soon," Takeo replied, "Couples should be together for… for twenty years before marrying."

"What?!"

Even Suna looked surprised. Takeo added sheepishly, "Well, marriage is huge…"

"What if the hands of fate decide to bring you two together in marriage?" Suna asked.

"The hands of fate, you're right. Wait, do you believe in that?"

"Well," Suna said as he took a sip of cider, "I was just thinking like how you would."

"Ah." Takeo nodded. "The hands of fate are pretty great."

Kurihara demanded fried chicken again and the speaking of marriage disappeared for the moment.

**73\. Irresistible**

There was a Tupperware full of freshly made, sweet ginger cookies. Rinko gave them to Takeo after some particularly tough final exams. Takeo placed the Tupperware of cookies out on the kitchen counter as a walking-by snack or a little something to go with breakfast, to dip into fresh coffee.

Takeo idly ate the entire stack of ginger cookies over the course of a day. They were just too irresistible.

**74\. Easily**

"Sachiko was asking for a cat again," Takeo said when Rinko slipped under the covers.

"You two have been looking through the catalogue again?" Rinko asked.

"Yeah," Takeo said. "We have the money, but…"

"But?"

"You've seen," Takeo said. "Animals don't seem to like me."

"You still looked through it together with her."

"I could take scratching or biting easily, but," Takeo replied, "It'll be stressed out all the time."

"Maybe we'll get lucky when we go to the pet shop," Rinko said. "We'll find a kitty that likes you."

**75\. Breathing**

It wasn't something that had been told to him before; that loving like this would come as simple as breathing.

**76\. Stumbled**

"This way, Maki," Takeo said. He stepped backward as Maki toddled after him, her little arms in front of her.

She took a misstep and stumbled, but merely rolled along the floor, laughing when she stopped.

"She's doing better," Rinko said as Takeo tickled Maki, her babyish laughter filling the room.

Rinko thought that a passerby could mistake them for parents caring for their child and rather liked the idea.

**77\. Sore **

"Yamato wants to run better?" Suna asked. He stepped out of the way of the other umbrella when Takeo waved his arms out.

"Yep, but I'm not sure what to do," Takeo said. The rain fell on his head. "We've tried different things, but it's one thing to work until you're sore… it's not fun when there's no results.

"She could run on a treadmill."

"She could run on a treadmill!" Takeo pumped his arms upward in excitement and the umbrella was blown by the wind back down the street.

**78\. Closing in **

Takeo came home to find Sachiko in a large box with their cat, Manami. Sachiko burrowed herself deeper into the box, among the large pillows.

"Watch out, Manami, the walls are closing in!" The cat didn't stir from its slumber.

"A new game?" Takeo asked Rinko as he slipped into the kitchen.

"She was watching a spy movie earlier today."

**79\. Involved**

It hurt to hear the words, that it was a mistake to tell her; but the truth was interwoven and Rinko knew then it was wrong to step in.

It just felt so good to be with someone that loved her, protected her, and she wanted the same for Nanako, for all their friends. But it still wasn't right to push them so close when Nanako wasn't comfortable with the situation, for Takeo and Rinko to be so involved.

They would find time to be together, or would find other crushes too; all that Rinko wanted was her friend's happiness.

**80\. Destiny **

Kurihara had fallen asleep against the table, her head tilted to the side and resting in his arms. His breath stunk of alcohol, so Takeo turned his head the other way.

"Twenty years together before asking for marriage," Suna brought up again.

"Ten?" Takeo asked. "But I should leave it up to the hands of fate…"

"If you did that nothing would get done."

"Maybe they just nudge me in the right direction?" Takeo asked. He drank a little bit of water. "Destiny is a strange thing."

"I think you've done well enough on your own," Suna said. "Besides, if destiny decreed that Yamato wasn't good enough for you, you'd probably punch it in the face."

"Maybe," Takeo said sheepishly after a while. "But I'd wanna try and tell it that Rinko is the best."

"You should tell her that instead of me."

"I do!"

"I know. Just making sure."


	9. 81-90

**81\. Sweet**

When Rinko was done taking pictures of her birthday cake, she wanted to eat it right away.

"I, uh, I hope it's better than the rice cake cookies," Takeo said as he followed Rinko back to her home. He thought of their crunchy texture and winced.

"Rice cake cake," Rinko said. She laughed, and it lightened Takeo's worry.

When she tried it she said that the cake was sweet, if dry, and it put more confidence in Takeo's baking skills.

**82\. Calling**

Some of her earliest memories were baking with her parents, the plastic spatula covered with a sugary icing or batter for her to nibble on when the cake or brownies or cupcakes or whatever were placed in the oven. The leftovers in the bowl were swiftly taken care of with the spatula.

It wasn't a calling that was at the forefront of her mind; like a back-up plan, that she could do something good, really good if time called for the skill.

It was good to share this with him.

**83\. Nightmare**

The buzzing cell phone woke Takeo up, and he sprung forward in a cold sweat. He breathed as he took in his surroundings and placed a hand to his chest.

He took notice of the cell phone and opened it to see Rinko's name in the menu. He answered the phone.

"Good morning Takeo!"

"Good morning."

"What's wrong, Takeo? You sound out of breath."

"I think I had a nightmare," Takeo said. "There was… a bird, and it was looking through a chimney."

"That sounds scary." Rinko's inflection dropped into in a confused tone.

"It's not scary now," Takeo said.

**84\. Flat**

Takeo stirred the pancake mix, watching the pancake powder mix with the other ingredients. There was an egg yolk that escaped the whisk, and he worked to get it mixed in.

"Lay down flat," Rinko said from the stove. She demonstrated for Sachiko, the spatula expertly sliding under the pancake and flipping it over.

Sachiko's attempt made the pancake slide off the spatula and splattered the batter in the pan.

**85\. Moon**

Sometimes he would briefly wake up in the middle of the night, and look about the room in a sleepy stupor, hazy and half-lidded. The moon illuminated the room lightly, and he would be soothed that everything was truly all right.

There was nothing better than to fall back down onto his pillow and gently gather her into his arms.

**86\. Spider web**

The spider web was high up in the corner, too tall for Rinko to reach. She stared up at it, thinking that Takeo could easily get it, but he was with his friends right now. Even with a chair under her she wouldn't be able to get the web.

The feather duster was falling apart and would only spread strips of feathers on the floor. Rinko noticed Manami in the corner of her eye and turned to the cat.

"Get it, Manami," Rinko said, jokingly, pointing up at the corner. Unsurprisingly the cat wouldn't be able to reach and she continued on her way.

Rinko surveyed the spider web and made a mental note to buy a new feather duster.

**87\. Haunted**

There was a campfire story that hit too close to home, at least from what Takeo heard. A ghost waiting in wait in a darkened room, with a haunted mirror standing in the darkness, would spur tears.

Rinko was soothing Sachiko, with whispers that everything was okay, and Takeo volunteered to stand in a dark room with a mirror to prove that nothing would happen.

They followed him to a bedroom and watched him close the door. For a moment there was only darkness until his eyes adjusted and he could faintly see the furniture, and more importantly the mirror.

He stayed in there for a good while and opened the door when it felt like enough time had passed. Nothing happened but Takeo could concede that it was unnerving.

**88\. Rich**

"You're tense," Ai said, as she watched Rinko stare down a straw in her drink.

"Did Takeo tell you?" Rinko asked, broken out of her thoughts.

"Tell me what?"

"After college, we were thinking of opening a bakery."

Ai bit back the question of "Did Takeo ask to marry you?" – one step at a time for these worries.

"What are you worried about?"

"The cost of the bakery itself, workers, it's just… it's overwhelming."

"Well," Ai said, "You're still young and neither of you are rich. You could open up a bakery years from now; who knows what the future holds. It doesn't have to happen right away."

Already Rinko's face softened, and Ai added, "You'll figure it out together."

**89\. Everybody**

"Doesn't everybody love you when they get to know you?" Suna had asked.

Takeo thought it was true; how his friends were always happy and cheerful when something went right for him, how Saijou wanted him to be a mentor, Amani got used to his presence, and Rinko's friends cheered on their relationship.

He thought then that Rinko liked him from the start; it was something different but happily welcomed.

**90\. Cheat**

"Ka," Takeo read from the card. The people at the table scanned for the card before Kurihara slammed his hand down on the card with "ka" written in the corner.

"I got it!" He called, waving the card in the air before putting it in his deck.

"Don't hover," Takeo said, "Don't cheat."

"I'm not!"

"You're just bad at this game," Nanako said.

There were more comments about how bad Kurihara was at the game, with only Rinko managing, "He has more than me."

"All right, all right," Takeo said over the loudness. It quieted down. "Te."

A flurry of hands slammed down on the card, sparking another heated discussion.


	10. 91-99

**A/N: For prompts 96 and 98, inspiration comes from that I went on a long trip and had no Wi-Fi on my commute. And because Miitopia is a fun and indulgent game.**

**91\. Skill**

Takeo waited as Rinko pulled his hair out of its knot, to reapply it newly. He hadn't cut his hair yet because he liked seeing where Rinko's skill would lead.

"Should I keep it long when the baby is born?"

"I think she'll like grabbing it," Rinko said. She pulled the hairbrush through a tangled part near the end. "Then we'll both have our hair grabbed."

"Maybe we should both get a haircut."

Rinko laughed. She began plaiting the strands of hair. "She'll love you all the same, like me."

**92\. Darling**

"Pet names?" Takeo asked.

"It would be cute, right?" Rinko asked. "Something I only call you, and you call me…"

"What names are there?"

Rinko tapped her chin, thinking over the various choices. "Well… there's sweetie?"

"That's a nice one. It's like candy."

"A good one, then? How about darling?"

"Hmmm." Takeo thought for a moment. "Older Western movies use that, right?"

"It sounds like tea," Rinko replied. "Then, what about 'my love?'"

"You look beautiful, my love," Takeo tried out.

Rinko turned over the hypothesized phrase in her head and waved her hands in front of her increasingly warm face. "W-well, it's okay to use regular names for now!"

**93\. Name **

Rinko drew the heart umbrella on a piece of notebook paper, the umbrella broad and the heart adorned with shiny features. She wrote Takeo's name on one side and hesitated with her own.

She took a swift glance around, even though there wasn't anybody else in her room, and very slowly wrote her first name, but with Takeo's family name instead of her own.

When she was done Rinko quickly folded up the paper, instantly warmed up by her hands, and put it in a deep part of her desk.

**94\. By my side**

"Rinko," Takeo said, "Please marry me."

He held up the velvet box, the ring resting in the slot, and made a face at his reflection. He tried it again.

"Will you marry me?" Takeo rolled the words over his tongue and shook his head. It didn't feel like enough.

"Rinko, I want to be by your side forever." He thought that one was too literal, and a contemplative noise rose up in his throat.

"I'll go ask Suna for help," he said to himself as he closed the velvet box.

**95\. Mountains**

Takeo was resting on his back, Rinko lying on his chest, and he looked up at the ceiling as he ran a hand over her back. Her jacket was smooth and soothing to touch.

"How'd you get so tall, Takeo?" she asked, contented.

"The mountains gave me to my mom."

"Ah, I see," Rinko said. "I came from the ocean, then."

He chuckled at the corresponding explanation, and she pressed a kiss to his cheek.

His stomach suddenly rumbled loudly and he made a sheepish face when she looked at him.

"Your stomach loves me," she said, a giggle in her voice, and she smoothed out the portion of his shirt that covered his stomach.

"All of me loves you."

**96\. Wrestle (Miitopia)**

Before they were to head out to help out their fellow team mates with a particularly nasty, powerful monster it was important to eat lunch first. Pearl won the roulette earlier that day, so they got a full pie of Geothermal Pizza.

"I will get supplies while you three eat," Pearl said, before heading into the nearest town.

Rinko ate one slice, commenting that the sauce was too spicy for her; the seven slices were soon reduced to one by Takeo and Steven.

"One left," Rinko said over her water.

"You can have it if you want, Steven."

"We have some time!" Steven said. "Let's do rock paper scissors!"

Rinko was the referee, chanting "Rock paper scissors," but every attempt ended in a tie.

"An arm wrestle?" Steven offered.

Takeo gave a worried look to Rinko, and she nodded, an unspoken plan communicated between them.

Steven effortlessly brought down Takeo's arm but then declared, "It was a reverse, so you can eat it."

"But you won, go on and eat it."

"No, no, it's a reverse game, the winner doesn't get it, so-"

"Another game?" Rinko asked over the increasingly loud excuses for the other to have the pizza.

"Oh, for goodness sakes," Pearl called from the doorway. She stepped in the dining room and cut the Geothermal Pizza slice in half with her sword.

"Eat it on the way," she said, "Everyone is waiting at another inn, so let's not keep them."

Steven nodded and began eating the pizza half as he ran to get his microphone. Takeo and Rinko followed him to the other rooms.

"I'm glad Pearl was there to help," Rinko said as she packed up her frying pan.

"But the games were fun," Takeo replied.

**97\. Water**

The warmth of the house hit Takeo full force when he entered, and he rubbed his arms as he took his shoes off. He went to the bathroom to wash up and get the cold out of his skin.

The bath soothed his skin. After the bath he got dressed for bed, and went to brush his teeth.

He took the toothbrush and slid it over his teeth, and an idle thought hoped that the next time he and Rinko kissed it wouldn't be as cold as the mint toothpaste.

He saw his cheeks become flushed with heat and he hurriedly spat out the foamy toothpaste. He rinsed out his mouth and splashed water on his face for good measure.

It was a new step, daunting but good, he thought.

**98\. Claws (Miitopia)**

Wandering the desert proved to be no easy feat but they'd done it and were to return with the lost item.

"That girl will be so happy to have her marbles back," Rinko said. She passed the bag from hand to hand.

"How'd they get out here, anyway?"

"A monster?" Rinko did a growl, her hands pointed like claws. Takeo almost walked into a cactus.

"We're lucky we didn't run into-" Rinko suddenly coughed. "Sorry. Sand."

Takeo was about to reply when he heard a scream.

"That sounded like-" Rinko started but Takeo recognized it too and he ran in the direction of the scream.

It was just as he feared when he found the source. One of his team mates, Yotsuba, was surrounded by three griffins.

Takeo saw the creatures get ready to lunge and he beat them to it; he covered Yotsuba with his body, taking the full brunt of the attack. There wasn't much he could hear over the griffins' screeches and he could feel their needle-like talons scratching through his armor. Something wet and stinging dripped down his back and then a scream.

"_Takeo_!"

He could hear the frying pan smash against a griffin, then another strike. The last was the noisiest, its screeches carried by the wind.

"Takeo," Rinko called again. She ran to his side. Takeo leaned up and brought Yotsuba to her feet.

"Are you hurt?"

She shook her head and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Takeo, your back," Rinko said, her voice a horrified whisper.

He touched it and his hand came back smeared with blood; that got Yotsuba to start crying.

"I'm sorry! I wanted to help! Takeo's gonna die, Takeo's gonna die, I'm sorry!"

Rinko went to pick Yotsuba up. "He's going to be okay."

"This is nothing," Takeo said reassuringly.

"But we have to go back to the inn," Rinko replied.

The return to the inn earned more screams and shouts. Amid the worried, loud crowd Takeo had to hurry to the bathroom. He stood under the shower until the water ran clear over him.

There was a knock on the door and a, "Are you okay?"

"Wait!" He turned off the water and dried himself off. He took the pajamas from his basket and dressed before opening the door.

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"Well," Pearl said, "That's a relief. You dripped blood on the floor and the little one kept saying that, 'Takeo almost died.'"

"Where is she?"

Pearl led him to the lobby where Luigi was holding the girl; she was holding on tight but had stopped crying. He was singing a song Takeo didn't recognize.

"Star, little star, the night is approaching- ah!" Luigi showed Yotsuba Takeo. "Look, he's okay!"

Yotsuba reached out to him and Takeo took her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said.

"You are safe. That's what's important."

She buried her face in his shoulder and he could already feel the fabric of his pajamas become wet with tears.

"Where's Rinko?" He asked as he patted Yotsuba's back.

"Upstairs. She is preparing bandages for you," Pearl replied. "Go on up and then come down for dinner."

Takeo put Yotsuba down, who swiped at her face with her hand. Pearl looked like she wasn't quite sure of what to do because of the unsanitary motion.

Luckily, Takeo thought, Luigi knelt down and took her clean hand.

"C'mon, let's go wash our hands and eat dinner!"

She nodded and they walked to the dining area, Pearl close behind. He went up the stairs and found Rinko in their shared room. She was sitting on her bed, a first aid kit by her side.

"How are you feeling, Takeo?" she asked.

"Mmh," he replied as he began unbuttoning his pajama shirt. "We're going to eat dinner but I wanna eat an HP banana."

He slid it off and Rinko replied, "I can cook one for you if you want."

"No, it's okay," he said. He sat down on the floor in front of her.

"How is Yotsuba?"

"Better, I think," Takeo said. He felt the disinfectant go against his wounds and he gritted his teeth. "Good thing Dark Lord Yanda wasn't there! You would have gotten him right in the face!"

"Maybe so," Rinko said. She placed a bandage over his left shoulder blade. "Who is cooking dinner?"

"Luigi, I think," Takeo replied.

"Oh, thank goodness," Rinko said. She placed a bandage on the center of his back with more gusto. "I like Pearl and Daisy, but their cooking…"

"Charred Hobglob Donuts…" he said hauntingly.

"Remember when Daisy accidentally spilled a whole bottle's worth of spice into the Turkey Curry? It immediately cleared out Steven's cold!"

Takeo laughed but he soon returned to the same worry.

"Rinko," he said, "Do you think we'll ever find Suna's face?"

"Well," Rinko said as she prepared another bandage. "I think… since Dark Lord Yanda is stealing faces, when we defeat him they should all be freed. But we just need to keep looking."

She patted down the bandage. "I'll ask the Great Sage next time we see her."

The last bandage was placed and he reached for his pajama shirt. As he got up and started buttoning it up he felt Rinko fall against his side.

Takeo abandoned the last few buttons and heard her say, "I was worried, too…"

Takeo enveloped her in a hug but a thought crossed his mind.

"The marbles…"

"Ah," Rinko said, "It's only a day."

"Hopefully the Dark Lord Yanda won't steal 'em…"

That made her laugh. "Of course, they're the source of his power."

Takeo smiled and breathed in. "Ah, I smell Beefburger!"

"Let's go!"

They went downstairs together. Even with the fright in-between, Takeo considered this a good day.

**99\. Wedding**

Once again Takeo found himself looking for Suna's advice. He was standing near the door to Suna's apartment, waiting and watching the stars in the sky.

He heard familiar steps and saw Suna climb up the stairs.

"Suna!"

"It's too late for this."

"Sorry," Takeo said, softer. "I need your help."

"All right. Hold on."

Suna unlocked his apartment door and they filed inside to the living room.

Suna made tea while Takeo waited at the table. Takeo's fists were on his knees and he was trying to keep his thoughts.

He watched Suna bring the tea to the table. His friend poured tea for the both of them and drank his own tea.

"What is the matter?" Suna asked.

"I want to ask Rinko to marry me!" Takeo reached into his pocket and drew out a velvet box. He opened it to reveal a gold banded ring.

"Traditional or Western wedding?"

"Whatever she wants! Let me practice the proposal on you, Suna!"

"Not a chance."

"I don't know what to do!"

"Walk a mile in her shoes," Suna said. "You'll figure it out."

Takeo wondered how he'd fit in Rinko's shoes before deciding to trust Suna.

"Okay. Got it."

Takeo carried the ring with him for three weeks. The question of marriage was a delicate one and Rinko deserved absolute perfection. When he did ask it was spontaneous and it threw his train of thought completely off course.

They were walking through a field together, back to the train station. The sunset's light graced over Rinko and she put her hand to her forehead.

"It's so beautiful!"

The simple phrase made Takeo stop completely. He grabbed the box from his pocket.

"Takeo?"

Rinko was looking at him and he had to close his moth to prevent himself from blurting out the question.

"Rinko," he said and all the words he planned evaporated. "I can't walk a mile in your shoes because I can't fit in them."

He showed her the box, "So I'll walk beside you instead."

Takeo couldn't continue because Rinko flung herself to him. He heard her muffled sobs and felt her shaking shoulders.

"I'm sorry!" he said because he didn't know what else to say. "I'm sorry!"

"No, no," Rinko's voice was shaky but she smiled in spite of it, "These are tears of joy."

He found it then that it was hard to fight the lump in his throat and the tears in his eyes.

Rinko said nothing else and hugged him again, which Takeo was grateful for; he was worried his own teary voice would make her cry harder.

After a few moments, though he didn't want it to ever end, they drew apart. Takeo leaned down to kiss her and after a few seconds she exclaimed against his mouth, "The train!"

Takeo took action then, giving her the box, picking her up and running for the station. They would walk side by side for the rest of their lives but in this moment Takeo was glad to hold her in his arms.

**A/N: Originally posted on AO3 on September 21 2018 to October 24 2018**

**Thank you for reading this.**

**100 is the cover art.**


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